The present invention relates in general to a collapsible palletized container system and, in particular, to a collapsible container apparatus attached to a pallet so as to substantially facilitate the collapse of the container to a minimized profile, both vertically and horizontally, when storage of the system is required.
Pallets have been used for many years by shippers and transporters of various materials. These pallets typically provide a flat and sturdy surface on which materials can be placed and stacked. In order to assure that the materials remain on the pallet, various sized and shaped containers have been attached to the tops of pallets so as to present a bounded area in which to place and/or remove the materials being shipped or stored.
Containers that have been conventionally attached to pallets range from nothing more than four walls and a bottom which utilize the pallet top surface as support, to more intricate collapsible pallet/container combinations. Most early pallet container combinations were not collapsible and retained their shape, configuration and dimensions whether in use or not, thereby requiring excess space when stored between uses. Yet, other pallet/container combinations have involved collapsible container combinations.
Other configurations of pallet/container combinations allowed for the pallet and container to be formed out of different structural materials. Unfortunately, many such structures required excessive container material or extra space when not in use to accommodate high bulky collapsed structures or bulk-bin container panels that exceeded the periphery of the pallet, when collapsed. Typically, extra costs associated with floor space and height restrictions often proved prohibitive.
In most prior art pallet-container combinations, the larger the combination is, the less manageable it often becomes. Many such combinations require extensive time and effort to fully deploy the container portion of the combination. There is often a necessity to hold down one portion of the container while attempting to deploy another portion. This arrangement very often necessitates more than one individual to articulate and deploy the container, or conversely to collapse the combination after use.
The prior art pallet/container combinations include U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,872 to Tusing, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,232 to Greenlee; U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,637 to Shippell; U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,010 to Carufel/Zeman; U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,559 to Nederveld; U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,898 to Nederveld; U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,507 to Delplanque; U.S. Pat. No. 4,880,141 to Gossler, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,687 to Silcott, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,461 to Bolton Sr.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,482 to Novatny. While this prior art relates in varying degrees to the present invention, many lack the many advantages of the present invention.
It is thus an object of the present invention to create an inexpensive, easy to assemble pallet/container apparatus that can be utilized with a variety of pallets and be formed into a variety of sizes and out of a variety of foldable materials that may be recyclable.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a container portion that requires a minimized amount of time and effort, by one individual, to deploy and collapse with few operational steps.
Similarly it is an object to minimize the amount of materials utilized to form the container portion and to minimize the overall vertical and horizontal profiles of the pallet/container combination when fully collapsed, and not in use, by minimizing the profile height of the container while maintaining the container within the outer peripheral boundaries of the pallet.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent in light of present specification and drawings.